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Chapter 1388 New Correspondence

“General Tropp, the darkness is not a panacea. The Ming army’s artillerymen are very experienced. Even the slightest spark will make them targets, allowing for more accurate firing!” Melo was not too opposed to the plan to change the landing site, and he did not want to use the Flanders Legion soldiers as cannon fodder.

If we can't cross the river successfully, then we'll have to reconsider whether to change the landing point. It might be better to choose the west bank directly. Even if it's more vulnerable to enemy fire, it's still better than being piled up on the riverbank and left to be shelled by the enemy.

"General, the method I'm referring to isn't night battle, but a very clever pontoon bridge. Actually, this kind of pontoon bridge was invented by the Ming army. I spent some time in Asia and saw the Ming army use pontoon bridges to train for river crossings on many occasions."

After returning to Europe, they attempted to build some and conducted several trials in the navy, with very good results. For rivers of this width, as long as the bridge structure and shipwrecks are prepared in advance, a pontoon bridge can be built within a few hours.

We have no shortage of manpower, nor are we short of craftsmen on board; we can easily build several pontoon bridges together. On a day with suitable winds, we can use smoke to conceal enemy lookouts, preventing artillery fire and reducing casualties.

The art of war says, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Tropp perfectly exemplified this principle. Although he had never formally fought against the Ming army, he had spent several years purposefully observing Asia, not only learning about Asian culture, customs, and the character of its people, but also studying many of the Ming army's combat methods and techniques.

Modular floating bridges are one such example. Their construction is quite simple: standardized, sturdy wooden sections are bolted together, and once the fulcrums are found, they can be quickly assembled into a simple bridge with a large span. They can also be quickly dismantled and reused multiple times.

If the river is wider than the pontoon bridge's span, there's a solution: build wooden boats on-site, load them with large stones, and sail them to the middle of the river to sit on the bottom. As long as the river isn't too deep or too swift, several boats can be used to create a foothold.

Tropp was a naval commander who commanded hundreds of large sailing ships. They could even skip the process of building wooden boats; they could simply find two small sailing ships that could enter the river and scuttle them in a suitable spot to serve as bridge piers.

Bridge components are easier to make; every sailboat has carpenters, blacksmiths, and rope makers. As long as they can find wood, they can build them in no time. Actually, if things get really desperate, they can even make them without wood—sailboats are made of wood, after all, just take them apart!
"We still overlooked them despite all our calculations. After this battle, the good days for the Xhosa people may be coming to an end."

The European coalition was planning their attack on Enbird Port, and several rooms in the port's military camp remained sleepless all night. Zhu Neng, clutching his cheek, stared at the large sand table in the center, his eyes bloodshot, his words dripping with murderous intent.

Xiao Si's order to voluntarily abandon Enbird City didn't require his approval, but he communicated it promptly and explained the reasons in detail. Standing in the same position, Zhu Neng could understand Xiao Si's predicament and agreed with the choice to sacrifice an army to save the general. However, he thought a little more deeply than Xiao Si and Zhang Yongling, for example, about the aftermath of the war.

"The problem lies with the General Staff for underestimating the threat from the north. It probably has little to do with the Khosa people, right?" Xiao Si hadn't even considered that possibility and was a little confused for a moment.

"How could it not be great! His Majesty has never been at ease with the Xhosa people. The reason he did not implement an assimilation policy in the South African Governorate was firstly because he was afraid of increasing the burden on the garrison, and secondly because he wanted to further reduce supply costs by encouraging the indigenous people to participate in production."

However, a prerequisite remains: loyalty to the Ming Dynasty is essential. This war is a test. If they can unite with us, His Majesty might appoint the Xhosa people to official positions after the war, halting the large-scale immigration program. Unfortunately, they themselves failed to seize the opportunity; His Majesty has always been harsh on those deemed worthless.”

It wasn't Zhu Neng who provided the answer to Xiao Si, but Zhang Yongling. As the Governor-General of South Africa, he certainly understood policy more thoroughly than the military, and having served in the Maritime Affairs Bureau for many years, he knew the Emperor's temperament much better. "What about the Xhosa people who followed us? And what about the several thousand Xhosa people serving in the homeland and studying at the Royal Academy? What about them?"

Xiao Si still couldn't understand. If the emperor wanted to deal harshly with the Xhosa people, he couldn't just discriminate, otherwise it would be pointless. These dark-skinned people valued their tribe highly; whoever killed one of their people was almost like a murderer of their father, and they would do anything to avenge him.

“Commander Xiao, you come from a military family. A mere hundred thousand men, Europeans sell them like livestock and nothing happens to them, why can't my Great Ming do the same?”
You can't possibly know nothing about what Settle went there to do, can you? That place is full of miasma, but only black people are spared from it. Sending them all there to work as immigrants will not only prevent them from becoming a burden, but will also make the Navy a fortune.

Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish. If those Xhosa people who went to serve and study in the homeland are willing to give up their good lives and become slaves with their people, Your Majesty should not be reluctant to let them go.

Even if the Xhosas are gone, there are other ethnic groups to the north; we can just offer them some benefits. Salim and Colombo are ready examples. As long as some people submit and live a good life, more people will follow.

I remember His Majesty saying during a class at the Imperial Household Department that there is no inherent distinction between wise and foolish rulers, nor is there any such thing as being "not of our kind." Everyone chooses their life based on their actions; they flock to where life is easier and avoid where life is harder. As long as the opportunity to choose is presented to them, no one will act foolishly.

Our navy is here to give opportunities to everyone. Before, they had no choice but to endure it. Now that we're here, they have a choice. So let them choose. There's nothing to worry about.

What I'm really worried about right now isn't the Xhosa people serving or studying on the mainland, but the more than 2000 people who retreated to the port area with you. What should we do with them? Locking them up would require a lot of manpower to guard. If we don't lock them up, where would be a safe place to put them?

There has long been debate within the navy about how to settle the Xhosa people, with opinions generally falling into three categories: hardline, softline, and moderate.

Some believe that everyone should be treated equally, with those who should immigrate being immigrated and those who should assimilate being assimilated, in order to be considered citizens of the Ming Dynasty. This is a middle-of-the-road approach, neither too lenient nor too harsh, adhering to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

Those with a more lenient view argued that Ngapali Port was too far away, and even with preferential policies, it would be difficult to attract enough immigrants. They believed that without a sufficient population, development was impossible, and it was better to appease the local indigenous people, teach them manners and etiquette, help them clear land, build factories, and construct irrigation systems, developing the area first and then gradually attracting more immigrants.

Some officers and soldiers felt that assimilating Black people was too difficult, and rather than wasting so much effort with little effect, they might as well learn from the Europeans and simply make them slaves. As for the problem of insufficient native population affecting economic development, it was actually easy to solve.

Japan has little land and a large population, so forcibly immigrating hundreds of thousands of people is no big deal. Once the agricultural and industrial base in South Africa is established, people from the Ming Dynasty will be willing to take the risk.

Originally, the imperial court adopted a policy of appeasement towards the natives of the South African Governorate. However, the fall of Enbird City will undoubtedly draw the attention of the court and the emperor. It is highly likely that the policy will be tightened and shift from a soft to a hard approach.

(End of this chapter)